National Renewal Youth

The National Renewal Youth (Juventud de Renovación Nacional, abbreviated JRN) is the youth wing of the Chilean political party National Renewal (RN), founded in 1987, it has served as a platform for political participation, training, and leadership development for younger members of the party.

The coexistence of liberal and conservative tendencies has characterized JRN’s trajectory. While certain sectors emphasize alliances with traditional right-wing actors and conservative values, other groups within the youth organization promote more liberal views on issues such as human rights, memory, constitutional order, and the definition of family.^[7][8][9]

Since its establishment, JRN has renewed its leadership through internal elections and organized national and regional councils. In November 2011, a new national board formally assumed its functions, reaffirming the youth wing’s role in preparing cadres for RN’s future leadership.^[10]

In 2014, for instance, RN’s doctrinal council — supported by youth voices — rejected attempts to restrict the party’s conception of family to heterosexual marriage.^[7] These debates illustrate how JRN has functioned as both a reproducer of RN’s conservative tradition and a laboratory for liberal, reformist initiatives within the Chilean right.

In May 2019, JRN held a regional council in southern Chile to define its political roadmap for the coming years, emphasizing youth involvement in electoral processes and programmatic debates.^[11] In June 2024, the organization announced a plan to promote candidates under 35 years old for municipal and regional elections, presenting itself as a generational alternative within the Chilean right.^[12]

Throughout its history, JRN has combined both conservative and liberal trends. On one hand, its branches have delivered support to right-wing allies such as the Independent Democratic Union (UDI) in municipal races in Greater Concepción in 2012,^[13] and publicly endorsed presidential hopeful Laurence Golborne the same year, generating internal friction with party authorities.^[14] At the local level, groups such as the Osorno branch ratified their support for RN candidates in 2013.^[15] These gestures reflected the more traditional, conservative alignment within the youth structure.

At the same time, liberal currents have emerged strongly within JRN. In 2014, its leaders proposed that RN’s declaration of principles should omit references to the 1973 coup d'état, arguing that the party’s future should not remain tied to the legacy of military rule.^[16] In early 2019, members created a WhatsApp group to organize against «Pinochetism», positioning themselves as a generation distant from authoritarian legacies.^[17]

In 2020, JRN leaders even confronted senior RN parliamentarians led by Andrés Allamand by openly supporting the «Approve» option in the constitutional referendum campaign,^[18] a position that contrasted with conservative sectors of the party. That same year, its president declared that history would condemn parties that denied the existence of the social conflict revealed by the 2019 protests.^[19]

After the presidential victory of Gabriel Boric in December 2021, the youth leadership pointed to his success as an example of political renewal and leadership construction for young people across the spectrum.^[20]

• Official Website